Soroptimist International hosts comedy fundraiser

Soroptimist International Marysville-Yuba City, a service club that has been operating locally for 83 years, will present its annual comedy fundraiser, "Laughlines," on Saturday at the Bonanza Inn in Yuba City.

Cherie Stephens, publicity chair for "Laughlines," said, "The headliner is Dat Phan, who was the original winner of NBC's 'Last Comic Standing'."

Phan's biographical information described him as a headlining comedian who tours across the U.S. and has appeared on TV and in movies, including "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "Family Guy," "The Tyra Banks Show" and "Cellular."

Stephens said the show's emcee will be Jimmy Earll. "Jimmy is local from the Marysville area, and he has been our emcee for I believe three years now," Stephens said.

The evening of entertainment also includes two more comedians: special guests Sean Peabody and Rachel McDowell, Stephens said.

"Last year's show was a sell-out. We had some standing room and had to add extra chairs. The number of tickets is limited, so get your tickets early," she said.

Stephens said advance tickets can be purchased locally at Stephens Farmhouse on Highway 99 in Yuba City or online at BrownPaperTickets.com.

"We only do this one fundraiser per year," Stephens said, to support the local Soroptimist group's three main service projects: S Club at River Valley High School; Girls on the Run; and First Steps Treatment Program.

"The S Club is a group of young girls who are wanting to give back to their community the same way the Soroptimists do," Stephens said.

"Girls on the Run has just taken off phenomenally," she said. It is a franchised program to help educate and prepare girls ages 8-11 for a lifetime of self-respect and healthy living, and as part of that, the girls train for a 5K run, Stephens added.

"The program is directed at helping them through this tool of the run — which is actually secondary to what the program is about. The program is really about helping with self-esteem and how to combat social issues — to give them the tools to be able to work with those things and hopefully develop into well-rounded women," Stephens said.

"First Steps Treatment Program is a phenomenal program, too, of getting women back on their feet after drug addiction and completing a drug-treatment program," she said.

"So that's where our money is funneled, but there will be other things as well. That's one thing I like about Soroptimist — we vote on different things throughout the year to help when someone brings a need to us from our local community. And we have an international program, too, that we support," Stephens said.

Stephens encourages people to come see "Laughlines" because "It's going to be a lot of fun. The evening is filled with laughs; we have so much in our daily life that is not fun, is just part of having to deal with life — but at this show, you can relax, have fun and laugh. It's going to be a good evening."

CONTACT Susan Benitez at sbenitez@appealdemocrat.com or 749-4773. Find her on Facebook at /ADFeatures or on Twitter at @adfeatures.